ISD! Introductions: Frances McBain

Frances McBain

Frances is a recent graduate from The CASS specialising in weave and rug design. Her work is based upon biofeedback, acoustic ecology, sensory information and lived experience translated through music software’s to create woven designs. Frances has recently worked internationally in both India and New York in collaboration with Tissage rugs and COVER magazine. This has led to a job with Sacco rug design company in New York.

Praeeo It Sounds Devicive! FaB18

Within my practice I've been investigating the relationship between sound and woven design in order to make the audible, visual.

Another aspect of my design process is using biofeedback and music software to dictate the structure of my designs. For this, I recorded my BPM, temperature and mood fluctuation, then using Ableton software I translated my data into sound matching the level of intensity of my biofeedback to sound frequency.

This process allowed sound to influence the composition and the colours of my creations. However, within my weaving process I am interested in the unconscious and the haptic act of making. This process ultimately starts to manipulate and change the structure of my designs by accessing my unconscious, forming a new aesthetic to my creations.